


After the rain there are rainbows

by GwenChan



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fairies, Fairy Tale Style, Light Angst, M/M, Magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-28
Updated: 2017-04-11
Packaged: 2018-10-12 08:35:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10486665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GwenChan/pseuds/GwenChan
Summary: A little fairytale where Yuri isn't bigger than a thumb, Victor is the prince of the fairies and they have to undergo several adventures before they can be together.Or, in other words, a Thumbelina!AU





	1. The boy in the flower

**The boy in the flower**

 

Once upon a time, in a small village located somewhere in the south of Japan, there was an old woman who felt very lonely. Her husband had long died and her only daughter, whom she loved very much, had recently left the nest. Thus the poor woman spent her days daydreaming about having again a little creature to care about, with no one but an old poodle dog to keep her company. 

One day, as she was coming back from the town market for the weekly grocery shopping, she heard two women talking about the witch who lived on the top of the village hill. The stories that circulated about her were all incredible and extraordinary, with people praising the witch’s ability to grant any wish, no matter how complicated.

The woman, whose name by the way was Hiroko, listened to the conversation as much as she could, rethinking about it on the way home. Maybe - she considered as she fiddled with the front door key - the witch could help her having a kid to care about and who would keep her company.

“What do you think, wouldn’t it be a good idea?” Hiroko asked the dog curled up at her feet. The animal, which was a little deaf in an ear, raised his head from his paws and gave a sleepy “woof” in response. She patted him on the back, fingers digging in the dog’s brown and grey fur. 

“Yes, you’re absolutely right,” Hiroko crooned, smiling happily as she imagined the life she would’ve had with a kid hanging around the house. When she fell asleep, head lolling on her chest, that dreamy smile was still lingering on her lips.

***

 

Despite her choice to go seeing the witch and her resoluteness to do so, a whole week passed before Hiroko could actually gather enough courage to walk up to the witch’s house and knock on her door. 

The witch was a beautiful woman named Minako. It was rumoured she was actually hundreds if not thousands of years old, but thanks to her charms and potions she still had the look of a fresh bloomed girl. 

“Enter, it’s open!” She welcomed Hiroko from behind a counter. She was standing on a wooden stool and her whole body was leaning in the effort of taking a big box from the highest shelf. After a while, though, she apparently got tired of such effort, as she drew a long wand from an hidden pocket in her robe and waved it toward the box. Under Hiroko’s amazed eyes the object came down gliding to gentle land on the parquet floor. 

“Using magic is so tiring! I wish I could avoid doing this every time!” Minako huffed. While she was saying so she turned toward Hiroko as if she expected an answer. Hiroko, who by this point had lost half his ability to speak and honestly couldn’t see how magic could be a bad thing, just nodded. 

Minako smiled. She then offered her a cup of warm tea. “So that in the meanwhile you can explain what you need,” she concluded. Hiroko, tired for the long walk up to the hill in a hot and windy summer afternoon, accepted with gratitude.

“Hmm, a kid,” Minako hummed over the brim of her cup when Hiroko had explained her her wish. Our woman ducked her head, feeling both a little worried and embarrassed for the just made request. Her puffy fingers tightened around her still warm cup. 

Minako stood silent for a while, muttering here and there a word meant more for herself than for anybody else. Then, when Hiroko was already about to excuse herself and leave, the witch gestured her to wait. She disappeared for a while - five turns of sandglass and a half - before returning with a small box. Inside a single seed was laying on a deep yellow cushion.

“Plant this in a vase and water it every day, each morning and evening,” Minako explained to Hiroko. “When the flower will bloom, you’ll have the kid your heart desires.”

Hiroko was indeed a bit uncertain, but who was she to doubt the words of a powerful witch for whom everybody had nothing but kind praises? So she profusely thanked the woman and slipped in her pursue the box containing the seed like if it was the emperor’s most precious treasure. 

***

Once back home Hiroko didn’t lose any time to plant the seed, impatient to see which flower would bloom and to verify if Minako prediction was true. Thus she took a big, terracotta vase, the nicest she had, filled it with fresh and rich soil, and carefully placed the seed in a hole she created in the middle using her thumb. She then placed the vase on the kitchen windowsill, where the sun rays arrived the strongest, even in autumn.

Two weeks passed. Every morning Hiroko woke up and watered the plant which had sprouted from the seed. The same she did every night before going to sleep, just like Minako had told her. Day by day the flower grew in height and beauty and by the end of the first week, a bluish blossom had already appeared. Hiroko, with watery eyes, took the vase in her hands, brought the not yet bloomed flower to her nose and inhaled its sweet perfume. 

About a week after, Hiroko was woken by her dog’s excited barking. The poodle jumped on the spot and run around, licking her face. He even tried to grab her sweater sleeve in his teeth. 

“Ok, ok, calm down boy. What is it?” Hiroko asked, rubbing her sleepy eyes. It was indeed still the middle of the night. As answer, the dog barked a bit louder, before rushing to the kitchen. 

There, contrary to any law of nature and logic, the blossom was blooming under the moonlight filtering through the window glass.

Hiroko bended over the slowly opening petals. They were blue, with bits of purple and violet at the base. She waited for the flower to full bloom and when it happened, wonders of wonder, a small boy was sitting with crossed-legs at its centre. 

He was small, so small he couldn’t be bigger than the woman’s thumb. He raised his tiny arms above his little head and yawned, stretching. He fluttered his eyes open, looking around with a curious expression. Finally, he stood up on his cute legs and looked at Hiroko, minuscule hands moving aside a petal, like a stage curtain. 

The woman, whose heart was about to burst for the wonder and the happiness she was feeling, brought her hand with the palm up near the vase, so that the small boy could jump on it. He did.

He was dressed in a bright blue costume with white frills on the front. His raven black hair was ruffled and he has warm brown eyes. When he spoke his voice was soft, polite, and sweet.

“Hello, mother,” he greeted Hiroko. A tear of joy glided down her cheek. She wiped it with her free hand. She also giggled. The boy truly wasn’t bigger than her thumb. 

“I will call you _Yuri_ ,” she decided; because it means courage and it takes a lot of courage to live in this world being no taller than a thumb. “Do you like it?”

Yuri smiled his approval. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no excuse apart from the fact that my brain was fixated on this idea and after dealing wiht non-stop angst of the other project I needed some cute and simple fairy tale AU.  
> And "Let me be your wings" is perfect for the Victuuri, so here we are.  
> Schedule once a week, as the chapter are very short and simple. This time I meant it. This should be something easygoing.


	2. The prince of the fairies

**The prince of the fairies**

 

Just like Hiroko had feared and predicted, life wasn’t very easy for tiny Yuri. Both humans and animals, that he could understand and speak with, often teased him for his smallness. The beetles and mice that here and there entered the house had a great fun in scaring him. They popped out from the holes in the walls or from under the floor only to chase him.

The birds that came on the windowsill to eat the crumbles of bread and that were as big as planes in Yuri’s eyes often grabbed him by the shoulders and lift him in the air, ignoring his terrified cries. 

Only Hiroko’s dog treated Yuri well. More, he seemed to have taken the duty to protect the boy very seriously, as he barked non-stop against the beetles, the birds, and any other animal that wanted to mock or hurt the boy.

 

On the human side things weren’t much brighter. Hiroko knew that a nice, young couple that lived not far from her home and had been on friendly terms with her daughter had three child girls. They were smart kids, albeit a bit mischievous. 

Maybe, Hiroko thought, cutting the vegetables for the dinner, Yuri could play with them. She told her son her plan and, when he had eventually agreed, she paid visit to the couple to explain the situation. The spouses, named Yuko and Takeshi Nishigori, were indeed puzzled at the beginning - nobody had ever seen a boy no bigger than a thumb - and considered it nothing more than a joke. They nonetheless accepted Hiroko’s invitation to bring their triplets to play with this Yuri; more for curiosity than anything else.

 

Sunday arrived. The ring of the doorbell woke up Yuri, who was dozing in the bed Hiroko had created from a box of matchers. He hastily jumped out of it, padded through the table and peered from behind a giant pencil box. When Hiroko introduced him to the Nishigori, he bowed politely. He could see the clear surprise on their faces. Their three daughters, instead, were enthusiasts; maybe a little too much. One of them took Yuri’s collar between her fingers and raised him, until he was hanging mid-air. Her sisters gathered around, leaning forward their grabby hands, impatient for their turn to hold the boy. Yuri’s face turned first green, then as white as a clean bedsheet. He sighed in relief when the girls finally put him back on solid ground. 

In the end the idea to play with the triplets proved to be a failure. They were smart and funny, no doubt, but the games they loved, such as the ball or the skip rope, were too big for Yuri to appreciate. He proposed to pretend to take a tea with some imaginary friends, but the girls yawned their boredom. Besides, despite his size, Yuri had the mind of a grown boy and had to admit that playing with three six-years-old wasn’t exactly his idea of fun. Notwithstanding this, he did his best to enjoy the afternoon, looking for something both he and the girls could appreciate. When the Nishigori returned to pick their daughters up, Yuri invited them to return another day.

They didn’t.

 

Weeks and months passed. Most recently the insects and the birds had started to mock Yuri for his being a little chubby. Hiroko was indeed a great cook, so Yuri always helped himself a second serving of the tiny portion she usually put before him at lunch and dinner.

One evening, down at the heel, Yuri posed a hand on the open page from a fairy book Hiroko was reading that day. It had letters almost as big as Yuri, and mesmerizing illustrations. The boy was especially entranced by the one on the bottom corner. It pictured a slender boy with semi-transparent wings sprouting from his shoulder blade and long silver hair held in a floating ponytail. A crown of blue roses encircled his forehead. Above all, the boy in the figure was just as small as Yuri. 

Yuri caressed the page, dreamily. 

“Wouldn’t it be great if fairies really existed?” he asked the dog, which barked once.

“Yes, it would be great,” continued Yuri, before bowing slightly before the figure and accepting an imaginary hand. It took a step forward, spun on place, and started to dance by himself, in a duet with an invisible partner. As he danced his mouth hummed a song about hopes and dreams.

 

Meanwhile that Yuri was dancing by himself, dreaming about handsome fairies with long silver hair and blue eyes, not so far away, the king and the queen of the fairy court were around on their chariot towed by two colourful butterflies for their annual duty of changing the leaves colour for the autumn. A waving gesture of their hands and the green immediately transformed in bright yellow, warm orange, and deep red. The king in truth was a bit worried – and a bit angry – since the crown prince was nowhere to be found.

“That boy, he’ll never be able to guide a kingdom if he continues like this,” he muttered, red in the face.

 

The prince indeed was flying on a fat bumble, his fingers curled around the insect’s yellow and black hair. Not far behind, a smaller fairy on a moth followed.

“Victor, this is a bad, bad idea,” he muttered, wrapping his hands on the moth’s body as he flew full speed to catch the prince. Victor didn’t show any sign to stop, inclining his torso to one side to make the bumble change direction. A moment after, there he was, passing just by Yuri’s window. He stopped. He watched first the window, then his companion, and finally the window again. His lips quirked in a smirk. The smaller fairy crossed his arms on his chest.

“Oh, no, no, no. This is a very bad idea,” he warned. “I’m out!”

And with these words he flew away. Now alone, Victor went to the windowsill; he jumped down the bumble and asked him to wait there until his comeback. For his luck the window had been left a little bit open. He entered the room.

 

“You dance beautifully!” Victor complimented Yuri out of nowhere. He took a thimble and sat on it, letting his legs swing in the air.

 

Needless to say Yuri startled on place, flushed, scrambled backward and fell right into a teapot. Victor giggled. Mouth still smiling, he flied to the object and peered from above the brim. Yuri stared at him from underneath **,** eyes widened in surprise and black tufts falling on his brow.

“Do you want some help?” Victor asked, stretching out a hand for Yuri to take. Yuri accepted the help.

He couldn’t stop staring at Victor.

 

The boy in front of him was exactly like the one in the picture, if not for his shorter hair. Yuri’s mouth opened agape, eyes locked on the fairy’s wings. The stranger looked over his shoulder. “Is there something wrong.”

Yuri’s mouth opened even more. He gaped on thin air like a fish. “You have wings!” he finally exclaimed, wonder pouring from every syllable. “Wings!” he repeated. Before Victor could reply, he ducked his head and brushed his feet against the table surface, hardly looking at him. “And you’re small like me! I believed I was the only one like this.”

He gestured toward himself. “So small. My name’s Yuri,” he said, body leaning in a bow. The other boy chuckled. Yuri frowned, diverting his gaze even more in embarrassment. “What is it?” he asked.

“Nothing, it’s only that I know a person named like you.”

 

“My name is Victor,” the stranger finally introduced himself. This time it was Yuri’s turn to giggle, covering his mouth with a hand. 

“Viktoru?” he repeated, indulging in the way his tongue rolled around that new and strange name. 

“No, Vi-ctor!”

But there wasn’t animosity in Victor’s voice. 

As Yuri was about to ask something about the fairy court, eyes still shifting from the boy pictured on the book and the one standing in front of him, a buzz attired his attention. Victor frowned, slamming a hand against his forehead. 

“Silly me, I was almost forgetting!” he said as he flies toward the window. He stopped mid-air, gesturing for Yuri to follow him. Our protagonist, cheeks flushed a deep pink because Victor was indeed very handsome, debated a bit between prudence and curiosity. 

The latter won.

He won so much that, before Yuri could even be aware of how and why, he was wrapping his arms around Victor’s waist, on a bumble ready to take-off.

 

There were several things that Yuri’s loved - the grains of rice fried in eggs his mom cooked; the sea smell that filtered through the window; the music coming from the phonogram - but suddenly they all seemed dull in comparison to the warm, fuzzy feeling he felt in his stomach. The cloth of Victor’s jacket was soft under his fingers and he could feel the slight movement of Victor’s breathing. He pressed his flushed face against Victor’s shoulder blades, eyes closing in fear when the bumble sped up and opening in awe to admire the moon reflected on the sea surface. Whitish foam covered the small waves crest.

 

As dawn approached, the blades of grass were covering in dew, ready to capture and reverberate even the smallest sunray as soon as the sky turned pink. There, on a carpet of red and yellow leaves, Victor bowed to Yuri and offered his right hand, palm up. The boy bit his lips, brushing his feet against the crunchy ground. He mumbled that he had never danced with anyone, given his size. Victor waved away his worry. 

“I’ve seen your dance. You dance beautifully!” he reiterated, taking Yuri’s hand in his and placing the other on his side in the starting pose for a waltz. Yuri sighed, but put his free hand on Victor’s shoulder. A mysterious song poured from Victor’s humming lips and Yuri found himself twirling, feet barely brushing the terrain, steps beautifully measured. Victor guided the dance and Yuri let himself abandon into it, following every movement the music suggested.

In the enthusiasm of the moment, Victor lifted him up, chest pressed together. He had the brightest smile ever. Yuri yelped. Victor got scared. They stumbled over themselves on the grass. Yuri stared at Victor for a while. Then he erupted in a crystal-clear laugh. The argentine sound made Victor’s heart swell.

He got back on his feet and offered Yuri a hand.

 

“Will you return?” Yuri asked, when they had returned to the windowsill, head still a bit dizzy from the dance. He grabbed Victor’s sleeve, with the sudden fear it was nothing but a mirage. He stared at the boy with the intention of impressing every feature in his memory, from the silver hair to his deep blue eyes.

“I will” Victor reassured. As he said so, he took off a necklace and passed it to Yuri. The boy thanked, wearing it. The pendant was warm from Victor’s body heat.

“I’ll wait then,” Yuri whispered. From the open window came the voices of the various fairies in search for their prince. But Yuri namesake was the first to find him. A very little and very angry fairy was indeed knocking at the window glass, blond hair flowing on his back. He was riding a moth.

“There you are! Go with the prince, it’ll be fine they say! Your father is furious!” the stranger sputtered, glaring at Yuri like he couldn’t understand what Victor had seen in him.

“My, my, Yurij, you’re so boring” Victor chuckled. He turned toward Yuri with an apologetic smile. “Looks like I have to go.”

“I’ll wait your return.”

 

He watched Victor flying away until he disappeared in the dawn light.

 

Now, someone else had seen Yuri’s dancing. The mysterious figure waited for the boy to be alone once again, tucked in his matcher box bed. He smiled over Yuri’s curled figure, before taking the box in his arms and jumping out of the window.


	3. The toad-people

**The toad-people**

 

Indeed, when the mysterious figure kidnapped sleeping Yuri, Vicchan (this was the name Hiroko had given her poodle) had barked furiously against the intruder, both to wake up the boy and to alert his owner; it had been useless. Thus, after having barked his lugs out, the poor dog just sat under the sill, head rested on his crossed paws. He whined for some help to come.

 

He hadn’t to wait long. On the contrary, before the sun could set up high, a familiar winged figure appeared in the autumn sky, his black silhouette haloed by the yellowish sunlight. It came down twirling, hastily jumped on the sill and called “Yuri!”

Victor, because who else could the figure be, had been scolded profusely for his rush behaviour, which didn’t suit a crown prince and could have put all the fairy court in great danger.

However Victor had never been the kind of person who listens and complies to his parents’ commands; on the contrary, despite having a good heart and a kind nature, he was carefree and a bit childish. He also had a bad memory and a tendency to forget promises often made in a rush. Still, he always kept the one he remembered. So there he was, landing on the sill, calling for Yuri to come out. He couldn’t wait to present him to his parents, showing them how nice and beautiful this boy without wings was. He had no doubt Yuri would be happy and welcomed in the fairy court.

 

Instead he was welcomed by an eerie silence and the confusion Vicchan had made in the attempt to save his little owner. The faithful poodle resumed his barking as soon as he noticed Victor. The fairy rushed up to the dog cold nose.

“Easy, boy! What’s happened?” he asked, caressing his brown, curly fur. Vicchan barked again, tilting his head.

“Where’s Yuri?” Victor continued. He was answered with another bark.

“Someone has taken Yuri?” he guessed after a while, looking around until he noticed Yuri’s little bed was missing. Any creature his size or even bigger could have easily slipped into from the open window to kidnap the boy. He was considering this when a woman voice came from the other side of the door.

“Yuri, come on. It’s late morning! Time to wake up!” Hiroko called, opening the door just a creak. She would soon tip-toed inside, noticed the mess and soon or later discovered her son was nowhere to be found. Victor felt sorry for her, but little could he do to provide consolation. So he patted Vicchan on the head, whispering “I’ll found him!” before taking fly once again.

 

 

When Yuri opened his eyes, blinking in the late morning sunlight, a bronze-tanned face was occupying his view. Bright and enthusiasts eyes smiles at him, before the face leaned back and moved a bit away.

“He’s awake!” the stranger shouted. Yuri surged forward, standing in his matchers box bed, with arms stretched high above his head. He hummed and tried to free himself from the fog that still lingered in his mind. He brushed his knuckles against his closed eyes to get rid from the grogginess.

Then he looked around. He was on what seemed to be a boat, gentle rocked by the river waves. Green and yellow reeds grew all over; leaning kindly till their tips touched the water surface in the kind autumn breeze. Some frogs were crying, sitting on big water lily leaves. Here and there their sticky tongues jolted out to capture a juicy fly. 

Yuri’s stomach grumble, hunger greater than disgust.

 

“Yes, he’s very pretty!” 

A woman voice attired his attention. He turned. His mouth opened in stupor. Before him there was a woman who was twice him; she was mostly human, but her skin was slimy green, covered in little brownish spots and her eyes bulged outside a bit too much. Her fingers were long, with a semi-transparent web between them. Her mouth was large, pink, with a big tongue inside. She was toad-like.

Next to her, three other smaller boys with the same features were standing.

 

“Yes! I’ve told you! My name’s Phichit!” the boy from before introduced himself. 

“And I’m Leo,” another added.

“Mine’s Guang Hong!”

“We’re dancers!” the woman concluded for them, grinning proudly. “And you’ll join us!”

 

Join them? Yuri startled in place. Going around doing shows wasn’t really his thing. Besides his mother should be worried sick by now and then there was Victor!

“Oh, god, I have to go back!” he exclaimed, stumbling over his own feet. “Victor is surely waiting for me!” 

The woman raised an eyebrow, curling her lips in a smirk. “I suppose you would marry him!”

Yuri hummed, absentmindedly. He hadn’t really thought about marriage yet, but the idea wasn’t bad. He lingered a moment in the sensation of Victor’s hands on his hips, remembering his smile while twirling and dancing. 

“Yes, it would be nice!” he answered in the end. The woman made a sound of disappointment in her throat.

“Marriage is overrated for sure. So boring. It’s a trap!”

“A trap?” Yuri parroted back, trying to comprehend the woman’s words. She nodded, repeating again how marriage was nothing more than a prison. 

“We, instead, are free” - she made a wide gesture toward Phichit, Leo, and Guang Hong - “We do dance shows and also ice skating shows in winter. We travel around the world.”

 

While saying so, she winked toward a frog to start to hum a melody and waved her hips in demonstration. The other boys soon joined in the dance, each focusing on a different style, all while listing the reasons why Yuri should forget Victor and imitate them right away.

“But my mom!” the boy tried to protest, shifting from one foot to the other. “She’ll be worried!” he considered out loud.

The toad-woman waved away Yuri’s concern with a gesture of her greenish hands.

“Nonsense! You’ll be famous and your mom will be very happy!” she countered, not stopping a moment to dance. Then, before Yuri could understand what was happening, she grabbed his arm and pushed him, forcing his legs and body to twist to prevent a fall. It was almost dance-like. “Such grace!” the woman applauded indeed. “It’s a luck we have found you before our leave!”

“Leave?” Yuri yelped, stopping midway a spin. Phichit, Leo, and Guang Hong giggled, arms thrown each others’ shoulders.

“Well, of course, we are artists! We travel! We’ll cross the ocean tomorrow!” the toad-woman explained.

“It’ll be fun!” Phichit assured. He had moved next to Yuri’s side and his arm was now gently wrapped around Yuri’s waist. “You’ll be part of our family!”

“But I’ve already a family!”

 

Phichit ignored the boy’s protests. He bended his strong legs and jumped down the boat on the nearest water lily. Then he jumped on a nearby rock with the same easiness. His family was quick to follow him, chatting about preparing the last luggage before leaving.  They left Yuri behind.

The poor boy dropped on his knees. The leaf he was on was toward the middle of the river, too far from both the shores and other leaves or rocks for Yuri’s small legs to jump on. Moreover the leaf seemed to be strongly attached to the river bottom.

 

  


As Yuri screamed for help, a strange creature came passing by in the sky. It looked like a man, no bigger than a swift, and of a swift he had wings, a beak and even talons where his feet should have been. 

“Help!” Yuri cried out to attire the creature's attention. The swift-man stopped mid-air. 

“What's the matter, dear?” he asked. 

“I have to get off this leaf before those toads came back!” Yuri rushed to explain. “But it's useless!” he lamented, dropping on the edge of such leaf. 

“Nothing is impossible!” the swift corrected him, before diving in the cold river water and break the water-lily root with a single snap of his beak. Not bounded to the fundal anymore, the leaf started to flow away. The bird-man, quickly resurface, threw Yuri a stick to paddle with. The waters indeed were becoming turbulent.

“My name's Christophe!” The man-bird introduced himself. 

“Yuri!” Yuri replied. “Thank you! I need to go back home. My mom will be worried sick. And Victor has promised to visit me again,” Yuri went on. As he spoke, the fingers of his free hand curled around the pendant still around his neck. 

“Well, that's sweet,” Christophe cooed. “But I would look out for that waterfall!” he added, voice suddenly shouting. Indeed the river had transformed into creek, soon to fall down a small cliff. Yuri, who could barely float, let alone swim, panicked. He started rowing frantically to oppose the current strength, but it was too powerful. Christophe tried to grab the leaf in his beak and pull it in the air, but the wet surface was slippery and the agitated water made him sputter. Twice already his head had fallen underwater. 

“Help!” he started crying too. 

Luckily for them some fishes heard their pleas, just like a fairy did. They all rushed to where the cries for help were coming, the leaf about to disappear in the water. There the fishes used their strong tails to send the water-lily up in the air while both Chris and the new appeared fairy raise it. Yuri on his side, was just curled up in a terrified ball.

 

“You’re safe, kid!”

It was only when Yuri heard these words and felt the solid yet soft ground under his butt that he dared to open his up to then closed eyes. Before him Chris was shaking the last drops of water off his feathers. Next to him the new fairy was stretching. He had blonde hair that shone in the afternoon sun. He was even smaller than Yuri and when he noticed to be observed he didn’t shied away, but greeted him with a big, toothy grin.

“Gosh, did you see that? I’ve been good. My brothers mock me because I’m still this little, but I was great!” he exclaimed. He then stopped. “Oh, sorry, my name’s Minami. Anyway –“ and here he went on and on about how often he admired Yuri since the day he had seen him by the window.

Yuri just stood her, eyes wide, in truth concerned about this enthusiast young fairy. Here and there he nodded and hummed, as after months of semi-total isolation, having a conversation with someone wasn’t really something he was comfortable with.

He shot Chris a pleading look.

 

“Ok, ok, Minami, have pity of him. Look at him, he’s exhausted!” Chris scolded Minami, inviting him to return home soon after. They fairy mumbled, but in the end obeyed.

 _Home_ , Yuri thought, _yes, he too have to return home._ And there he would’ve waited for Victor. He sighed, frowning. Chris must have noticed, because he got nearer and asked Yuri what was wrong.

“It’s just that everything here is so big and I don’t even know which way my home is,” he lamented, shoulders slumping. “And probably Victor thinks I don’t care about him anymore. I’m sure he has already forgot me!” he continued, voice creaking. He would’ve surely burst into tears if Chris hadn’t been quick in reassuring him. He suggested him to follow the river backward, down the slope till the sea, and pointed at a short-cut through the canes to avoid the toad-people. Then he promised with heart-crossed and everything to find the fairy court and Victor as quickly as possible.

“Besides, I’m sure he’s serious about you. Otherwise he wouldn’t have given you the jewel he was given as birth to symbolize his rank as crown prince,” Chris added. Yuri’s fingers instinctively curled around the pendant.

 _A prince. A fairy prince._ For a moment he felt his heart flutter, just like it had done the day before.

“You’ll find him?” he asked Chris once again.

“I promise.”

 

And thus they parted their ways.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh. Ok. in the US is still Tuesday, so I'm on time. Anyway, I keep complicating things even if this is supposed to be a fairytale and being simple (even with that bullshit of failling in love after a single day). Still I'm so used with introspection and stuff that sometimes I still fall back into the trap. Anyway, there it is.
> 
> I'm tired and haven't actually re-read the chapter. I'll revise it tomorrow.  
> I also know that in the original fairytale the toads want to marry Thumbelina, but I truly couldn't see Phichit or Leo or Guang Hong asking such thing, so I gave a different interpretation. The woman is Leo's coach.


End file.
